Tiltable micromirrors have applications for redirecting or switching light beams. Surface micromaching based on conventional semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) processing technology has recently emerged as a way of manufacturing individual micromirrors of sub-millimeter size and arrays of such devices without the need for piece part assembly. Many different designs of micromirrors have been disclosed (see e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,867,302; 6,025,951; 6,198,180 and 6,220,561). For certain applications, it would be desirable to have a micromirror that could be switched between a pair of stable angular positions (i.e. a bistable micromirror) and to have that mirror remain in one position or the other even when all electrostatic actuation voltages have been removed. The present invention provides a tiltable and latchable platform that can be switched from being coplanar parallel with a substrate whereon the platform is formed to being tilted at an angle with respect to the substrate and locked in that position. By providing a light-reflective surface on an upper surface of the platform of the present invention, a tiltable micromirror can be formed which can be electrostatically switched in angle and mechanically latched in a tilted position until released. The present invention can also be used to form arrays of such micromirrors with a high fill factor.